mixedmartialartsfandomcom-20200214-history
Johny Hendricks
| birth_place = Ada, Oklahoma | death_date = | death_place = | death_cause = | residence = | nationality = American | height = | weight = | weightclass = | reach = | style = Wrestling | stance = | fightingoutof= Las Vegas, Nevada | team = Team TakeDown | rank = | yearsactive = | mmawins = 7 | mmakowins = 4 | mmasubwins = 1 | mmadecwins = 2 | mmalosses = 0 | mmakolosses = | mmasublosses = | mmadeclosses = | mmadraws = 0 | mmancs = | url = | sherdog = 24539 | footnotes = | updated = }} Johny Hendricks (born September 12, 1983) is an American professional mixed martial arts (MMA) fighter and a former accomplished amateur wrestler. Collegiate Wrestling Career While competing for Oklahoma State University, Hendricks won the 2005 and 2006Team TakeDown Fighter Information NCAA Division I wrestling title at 165-pounds, and he finished second in 20072007 NCAA Wrestling Results after falling to Mark Perry from the University of Iowa. The loss to Perry was Hendricks' only one suffered during his senior year at OSU, during which he had compiled a 56-0 record coming into the bout"Win Or Lose, History Awaits Hendricks". In addition to his two national championships, Hendricks was a 4-time All-American at OSU and a three-time Big 12 Conference champion (2005, 2006 & 2007). During his high school wrestling career at Edmond Memorial High School, Hendricks won three Oklahoma state titles and the 160-pound high school national championship. Early Mixed Martial Arts Career After graduating from OSU in 2007, Hendricks moved to Las Vegas and signed with Team TakeDown, along with two other former OSU wrestlers, Shane Roller and Jake Rosholt. Hendricks began training for an MMA career and made his professional MMA debut on September 28, 2007, in which he scored a third round TKO (punches) over Victor Ratcliff at Masters of the Cage 16 from Oklahoma City, OklahomaMasters of the Cage 16 Results. Hendricks fought once more in 2007, and defeated Spencer Cowley with a second round TKO (punches) at Snakebite Fight Night from Tulsa, OklahomaSnakebite Fight Night ResultsSnakebite Fight Night Results. Hendricks made (and won) his television debut on March 15, 2008 with a first round submission (Brabo Choke) victory over Richard Gamble at HDNet Fights Xtreme Fighting LeagueHDNet Fights Xtreme Fighting League 1 Results, also from Tulsa, before signing a multi-fight deal with World Extreme Cagefighting (along with Roller and Rosholt)WEC signs TTD fighters. While in the WEC, Hendricks won two more fights—a December 3, 2008 TKO (strikes) over Justin Haskins at WEC 37WEC 37 Results (Hendricks' first fight outside of Oklahoma) and a unanimous decision win over Alex “The Russian Crusher” Serdyukov at WEC 39WEC 39 Results, which was the last 170-pound fight in WEC history due to the company's decision to dissolve its welterweight division and focus on lighter fighters. The Move to UFC With the WEC eliminating his weight class, Hendricks had to find another place to fight and chose to make the jump to the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC). In May 2009, it was announced that Hendricks would be making his UFC debut against Ultimate Fighter 7 champion Amir Sadollah at UFC 101 from the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on August 8, 2009UFC 101 Card Info. In the opening seconds of the first round, Hendricks blocked a high head kick from Sadollah and countered with an uppercut knocking Sadollah to his knees. Hendricks continued to land punches until referee Dan Miragliotta pulled him off and ended the fight 29 seconds into the first round. After beating Sadollah, he jumped up and ran across the cage with a huge smile on his face, earning him the unofficial nickname "Happy Beard Guy" among fight fans. Some people criticized Miragliotta for stopping the fight too early, as Sadollah seemed to be trying to get up, but Miragliotta defended his stoppage saying Sadollah was "out of it" and "still looked glassy eyed and asked me what happened." Miragliotta Defends Stoppage Hendricks defeated UFC newcomer Ricardo Funch on December 12, 2009 at UFC 107.http://www.sherdog.com/fighter/Johny-Hendricks-24539 Personal life Johny and his wife Christina have a daughter named Abri who was born on October 18, 2009. On MMA Junkie Radio, he has announced that he is a fan of Wendy's Baconator sandwich and is an avid video gamer on the XBOX 360, most notably Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Mixed Martial Arts Record References External links *Oklahoma State wrestling biography *Johny Hendicks on MySpace *Team TakeDown Fighters Official Web Site *MMA Record Category:1983 births Category:Living people Category:American sport wrestlers Category:American mixed martial artists Category:Mixed martial artists from Oklahoma